


The Stories Spun Together

by RobinNightngale



Series: Brentwood [8]
Category: Batman (Comics), Robin (Comics)
Genre: Brentwood AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-01-28
Packaged: 2018-09-20 09:35:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9485282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinNightngale/pseuds/RobinNightngale
Summary: Another assignment gives Tim the chance to shine, but also the chance to actually get to know Jason outside of the classroom.





	

**Author's Note:**

> *insert gif of Mushu rising from smoke and fire* I liiiiive! 
> 
> Dramatics aside it's great to be writing this again, and I thank those have been waiting for the next chapters with all my heart it's been a tough year and to see this reaction is so nice.

    Not even a week had passed since Tim’s disaster of a science project and he was on to the next project.  Partially he was forced to by the flow of his classes, but he didn’t fight it.  It was best to try not to dwell on the sabotaged volcano and not question the B+ he somehow received from it.  His current theory was that the head of the science department had a soft spot for the pair despite his teacher’s resentment for Tim at the very least.

On top of a project he liked literally blowing up, the academic deities seemed to dish out another opportunity for him to actually apply himself.  Their English teacher had announced they would be embarking on the glorious journey of creative writing.  The only tiny downside unfortunately came as no surprise, they’d get a peer editor who would stick with them throughout the whole process.

    Within the first day Tim had kicked out the first draft.  There hadn’t been enough Zesti in the world to pull him away from his computer that night as he chronicled his young Dragonborn mage knight’s trek to find the missing hero who had helped him see the best way to focus his altruism.  Technically it was the backstory for his Warlocks and Warriors character, but he had been meaning to update it to his current writing skills and development, and this assignment seemed to be the proper kick in the butt.

    Maybe it was a bit much to put his baby up for review in a class filled with ruthless delinquents that gave no shits, but he couldn’t help himself. No matter how he might try to rationalize it he still sat anxiously looking around the room as the teacher passed out the assignments for review.  Someone out there was reading  _ his  _ story.

    When the paper flopped down in front of him, Tim grinned and dove straight in.  Almost instantly his excitement leaked out of him.  With each turn of the page he felt more confused and the crease between his eyebrows started a headache.

    The whole thing wasn’t terrible per say, just… in need of a lot of reworking.  Somewhere in the disjointed flow and lack of description, an idea shinned through if he squinted hard enough.  Whoever they were they had a wonderful understanding of language and grammar, it just sounded like a textbook or instruction manual that had decided to make a choose your own adventure story and didn’t know how to do that. 

    Closing his eyes, Tim took in a few breaths.  He doubted the world would be kind enough to give him someone who took criticism well, he really didn’t feel like spending this project walking on eggshells.  So wrapped up in trying to find a way to explain this, Tim almost missed the teacher calling his name to meet up with his partner.

    As he stood, he looked around for someone staring at him and sucked in a sharp breath.  Jason Todd was giving him a tiny wave.  His hero and sorta crush thing, wrote the paper he just wasted an entire red pen on. “Oh the world really does hate me…” he mumbled under his breath as he walked over.

    They sat across from each other and shuffled through their papers, getting everything settled.  A weight lifted off Tim’s shoulders as he saw Jason about to speak, he wouldn’t have to open up this with him trashing the elder’s piece.

    “Are you sure this is your rough draft?” 

    “What…?” Tim knew he sounded far more dazed then he should have.

    “Are you sure this is a rough draft man? Cause damn this is tighter than some of the books schools force us to read.”  As the younger’s jaw visibly dropped Jason kept talking, handing the document back.  “I mean there are a few grammatical and technical errors and when the flow sorta shifted wonky, but the only major problem is there was more than a bit lost cause I’m unfamiliar with the world you built.”

    “Wait… you think it’s good..?” 

    “Dude, have you not been listening? I think it’s fricken awesome! You’ve got a humanoid dragon character on a quest to find and build upon his own heroism, but also wanting to keep the memory of his missing childhood hero alive. That’s a level of complexity that not only is missing from modern day Tolkenesk fantasy, but you bring a level of diversity in your character’s that’s basically nonexistent in mainstream and crush the tropes like you crush the patriarchy,” Jay rambled on, waving his hands in his enthusiasm.

    “Holy shit…” Tim murmured as he stared at the older boy finally handing back his work.

    “Really, you’ve got something great and solid here that as long as you sort clue the reader in a bit more will end up getting the highest grade in the class easily.” He flashed the younger a smile as if he knew how awestruck this amount of direct praise was making him.

    “Thank you…”

    “Also before you even start, I know mine’s shit.” He glanced at Tim and noticed him waiting before he continued on, “I’ve been trying for the whole week, but I can’t get it to come out right on paper. Like I know what I want to do and where to take it, but I don’t know what the hell is making to turn out like trash on paper,” Jason sighed, the frustration clear in his tone.

    Tim watched him for a while before finally speaking, “Tell me your story.” 

    “What…?” Jay frowned at him, more then a little confused.

    “Tell me the outline for your story. I want to hear it the way you’re thinking it.”

    Slowly, he spoke of a young Romani trans woman in Victorian England attempting to establish herself as one of the top chefs in the area, but also win the heart of the local dutchess. Tim could tell he had built this entire universe in his head and knew just how and where to take it as he delved deeper in.

    Before they got any further though the bell rang, shaking them both to attention. As the teacher called out their assignments to get it edited and returned by the middle of the week, Tim leaned into Jay. “What are you doing this evening?”

    “Uh... nothing?”

    “Good, I’m gonna come over and help you turn this into what you want it to be. Also what type of computer do you run?”

 

    At the predetermined time Tim arrived at the dorm room Jason occupied alone with his book bag. The older boy responded quickly and showed him in. 

    “I don’t know if you ate yet but I think Alfred felt bad about what happened with the project so he dropped off some food for us.” 

    “Oh wow, thank him for me will you?” Tim sat down in a chair and began to rummage around in his bag before pulling out a headset and pushing it at Jay.

    “Am I about to join a boy band? Cause I’m pretty sure that’s been done, several times.”

    "I don't think you'd even be able to, the bad boy role is usually filled by someone who can still follow directions," Tim snorted.

    “Is the bad boy of Brentwood saying  _ I _ , look like a bad boy also?” Jason gave an overdramatic gasp as he looked over the headset and stuck it on.

    Tim rolled his eyes and pulled out the needed flashdrive. “This is a program that translates the spoken word into a word document. In class, things seemed to flow better when you talked it so I figured this might be a good idea, just tell me the story.”

    “And you had this just lying around your dorm room?” Jason sounded incredulous as he started up the needed program.

    “Yeah. My dad’s never been around to actually figure out what I’d want so he just buys me the newest tech for christmases and birthdays,” Tim stated matter of factly.

    While the younger man started arranging his things Jason stared at him. The little comment seemed to hold some of the mysterious backstory missing from paper, but the vigilante was almost positive their friendship score wasn’t high enough to unlock that yet. 

    “So… how do you want to do this?” Jay sat uneasily in front of the computer, setting up the document in turning back to his companion.

    Cracking his knuckles, Tim set aside his own writing supplies. “You’re going to tell me the story, like I’m your captive audience. The headset’s wireless so you can be wherever you’re comfortable. There’s a pause button on one of the sides so if you’re struggling or messed up and want to physically edit something in the document you can just do that. We can take breaks to rest your voice also, and when you aren’t telling it to me I’ll work on the edits you made to mine.”

    “Jeez you have this down to a science don’t you…”

    “Let’s just say I’m good at this sort of thing.” Tim smirked. “Now, spin me your web." 

 


End file.
